Locomotive blow-off and refill system



s. OTIS AND F. s. WICHMAN. LOCOMOTIVEBLOW-OFFAND REFILL SYSTEM.

' APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 192]. Y

Patented Nov. M, 1922'.

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S. OTIS AND F. S. WICHMAN. LOCOMOTIVE BLOW-OFF AND REHLI. SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22. I9ZI.

6 m Mari 1 w pm 5 Patented Nov. 14, I922.

SPENCER OTIS AND FRANK S. WICHIYIAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS 'I'O NATIONAL BOILER WASHING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORA- JI'ION OF MAINE.

Application filed April 22, 1921. Serial No. 463,539.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that we, SPENCER O'rrs and FRANK S. WIOHMAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotive Blow-Off and Refill Systems, of which the following is a specification,

This invention relates to a system of apparatus for receiving the products blown off from a locomotive, and recovering heat units therefrom by condensing the steam or volatile portions thereof and delivering the same in the form of water of condensation to the tank from which water is taken for refilling the boiler.

The invention has for its object to provide means for automatically enlarging the condensing capacity of the system in proportion to the increase in demand upon the system resulting from evacuation of a plurality of boilers simultaneously. I

The invention proceeds upon the principle of sub-dividing the condensing portion of the system into a plurality of units, each adapted to care for the steam and vapor of the blowoff products from a predetermined number of boilers, and so related to the blowofl' system (for instance, the separator thereof) that they successively enter automatically into operation as thedemand for condensation builds up; the several condensing units preferably constituting a connected series receiving steam or vapor from a common source and passing their water of condensation through a common discharge channel to the filling tank and being caused to follow one another as the demand builds up, either by progressively decreased accessibility of the steam and vapor to the successively acting units of the series, or by having their thermostats, which render them automatically responsive to the vapor to be condensed, regulated in sensitiveness so that a succeeding condenser will not act until the capacity of an antecedent condenser has been exceeded; and either of these conditions, namely, relative accessibility or relative sensitiveness of controlling thermostats, being established in condensing units connectedwith the separator or source of vapor supply either in multiple or in series, or partly in multiple and partly in series as may be desired.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 represents a plan view and Figure 2 an elevation of that portion of a blowoft', condensing, and refilling system with which the subject-matter of the present invention is immediately concerned; and

Figure 8 is a schematic view of a modification.

1 represents the blowoff pipe which usually leads from a plurality of stalls ina locomotive roundhouse and discharges into a separator 2 wherein the blown ofi' products may be separated into hot water which passes through a pipe 3 to the muffier pipe 4 in the washout tank 5; sludge or sediment which discharged at appropriate intervals through a pipe 6, preferably controlled by automatic valve mechanism 6" and leading to a sewer; and steam or vapor which passes through crossover pipe 7 to the condensing apparatus 8. Condenslng apparatus 8 compr ses plurality of units, such, for inmance,

as separate'condensers 8 8 and 8, which may be of any suitable number, of which some of them, for instance, the condensers 8:, 8, receive the steam and vapor from the pipe 7 while unit 8 is preferably utilized to receive exhaust steam through pipes 9, 9

leading from engine 10 which pumps washout water from tank 5 to washout line 10 and pump 11 which pumps filling water from filling tank 15 to filling line 11. Condensers 8, 8 and 8 have a connected passage 12, 13 and 14 leading to the filling tank 15. Condensing units 8' and 8 have water sprays l6 and 17 controlled, respectively, by valves 18 and 19, having thermostats 20 and 21 which are so related to the valves and to the condensing units 8 and 8 that they cause the valves to open and supply a spray of condensing water into the condensing units 8, 8 whenever steam is in said units in sufficient volume to influence the thermostats.

In the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2, the condensing units 8, 8 stand in symmetrical relation to the separator 52, in so far as concerns the crossover pipe 7 and its branches 7*. but the condensing unit 8 will act in advance of the unit 8 because the steam and vapor will flow more readily into unit 8 where there is an escape opening or outlet 13, 1a leading therefrom toward the tank 15. Hence, under an ordinary load of blowolf products within the capacity of the unit 8 the said unit alone will act to condense the vapor and steam, but as soon as the number of locomotives blowing oil and dischargin products into separator 2 becomes such as to overload the unit 8 the excess of steam and vapor will set the unit 8 in operation and this will take care of the surplus. Similarly, the auxiliary condenser 8, While serving ordinarilyto save theheat units in the exhaust steam from the pumping engines 10 and 11 or other points of steam consumption and utilizing for its condensing spray 22water of circulation returned from the filling line 11 through pipe 28, may be provided with a thermostatic valve 2 1 having its thermostat projecting into the channel 12, 13, let in Such a manner that if a volume of steam arrives in the condensing apparatus in excess of the capacity of both the units 8 and 8 so that steam is flowing through said passage, the unit 8 will have an increased supply of water delivered through pipe 25 into the sprayQQ thereof, thus providing a further increment in condensing capacity to care for the overload of blown oil products. Instead of relying upon the relatively lower accessibility of the unit 8 to steam and vapor arriving through the crossover pipe 7, the thermostat 20 of said unit may be set to respond to a higher temperature than that for which the thermostat 21 in unit 8" is set, and rely on this condition to determine the successive operation of the units 8 and 8 when the capacity of the former is exceeded by the arriving steam and vapor.

Instead of having the condensing units related to the separator 2 in multiple as shown in Figures 1 and 2,-they may be arranged in tandem or series, as suggested in Figure 3, wherein 2 indicates a separator to be constructed and installed in the system as described in connection with Figures 1 and 2, while the condensing units 8, 8 and 8 will be constructed and equipped similarly to the units 8, 8, 8 described in connection with Figures 1 and 2.

In all the figures, each of the'units is adapted to receive volatiles from the separator. In Figures 1 and 2 where the units 8" and 8 are arranged inmultiple with the crossover pipe 7, said units receive the volatiles directly from the separator; or regarding the entire group 8, 8 8, which constitutes a multiple and partly tandem arrangement, when unit 8 is brought into action upon the blown off products it receives the volatiles thereof indirectly through at least one antecedent un1t. In Figure 3 each succeedlng unit receives the volatiles through an antecedent unit. But even the unit 8 is controlled in a measure by the capacity of unit 8 since the lesser resistance to flow toward the outlet insures initial charging of unit 8' in advance of unit 8, and as soon as condensation commences in 8 a positive pull upon the volatiles is setup and remains until the capacity ofunit 8 is exceeded, when there will be a back flow into unit 8*. Thus, in either arrangement an antecedent unit exercises a control over a succeeding unit even though thermostatic means are employed for releasing the condensing water and such thermostatic'means may be set to act under progressively'higher temperature.

It is to'be' understood that the two units 8 and 8 or 8 8 which are all related to the separator 2 in the sense of receiving volatiles therefrom, are merely typical of a plurality of condensing units, the number of which will be varied according to the number of stalls in the roundhouse, or the number of locomotives liable to be blown off simultaneously. Hence, the invention is not limited to the use of any particular number of these units or any particular arrangement thereof so long as they embody in their construction and arrangement a system comprising a plurality of condensing units individually adapted to receive the volatile portions of the blowofl' products and to enter into operation successively as the load on the blowoff line demands.

We claim:

1. In a blowotl and refilling system for locomotives, a conduit delivering volatiles of the blown off products, and a plurality of condenser units, each adapted to receive and each automatically responsive to the presence of said volatiles; said units acting in succession, and a succeeding unit acting only after the load of volatiles delivered exceeds the capacity of an antecedent unit.

2. In a blowofi' and refilling system for locomotives, a conduit delivering volatiles of the blown oil products, and a plurality of condenser units, each adapted to receive and each -automatically responsive to the presence oi said volatiles; said units succeeding one another in receiving said volatiles, and

succeeding unit receiving said volatiles only after the antecedent unit is being charged to its capacity.

3. In a blowoii' and refilling system for locomotives, a conduit delivering volatiles of the blown off products, and'a plurality of condenser units, each adapted to receive and each having means rendering it automaticallvrespon'sive to the presenceof the said volatiles; said last named means being set to .4

cause said units to act successively.

4 Ina blowoff andrefillingsystem for locomotives, a conduit delivering volatiles of the blown off products, and a plurality of condenser units each arranged to receive volatiles from said conduit, and each having a thermostat rendering its action responsive to the presence of such volatiles therein; the thermostats of the respective units being setto act at different temperatures.

5. In a blowofi and refilling system for locomotives, a conduit delivering volatiles of the blown off products, and a plurality of condenser units each arranged to receive volatiles from said conduit, and each having a thermostat rendering its action responsive to the presence of such volatiles therein; said units being arranged to receive said volatiles successively and said thermostats being set to respond to temperatures increasing in the order in which the units receive the volatiles.

6. In ablowoif and refilling system "for locomotives, a conduit delivering volatiles of the blown off products, and a plurality of condenser units, each adapted to receive and each automatically responsive to the presence of said volatiles; said units having a common discharge channel for water of condensation.

7. In a biowofi and refilling system for locomotives, a blowoff line adapted to re ceive blown off products from any of a plurality of locomotives, a separator into which said blowofi line delivers, a condensing apparatus receiving volatiles from said separator, a delivery conduit for products of condensation produced by said condensing apparatus, and a filling tank into which said conduit delivers; said condensing apparatus comprising a plurality of units each of which is adapted to receive said volatiles, and each of which delivers to said conduit, and individual means for the respective condenser units rendering them successively responsive to the presence of volatiles delivered thereto.

8. In a blowoff and refilling system for locomotives, a blowofl line adapted to receive blown ofi products from any of a plurality of locomotives, a separator into which said blowoff line delivers, a condensing apparatus receiving volatiles from said separator, a delivery conduit for products of condensation produced by said condensing apparatus, and a filling tank into which said conduit delivers; said condensing apparatus comprising a series of successively acting condenser units and means rendering them respectively active to condense volatiles delivered thereto; said last-named means acting with respect to each succeeding condenser unit only as the capacity of the antecedent condenser unit is exceeded.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 14th day of April, 1921.

SPENCER OTIS. FRANK S. WIGHMAN. 

